CAPE TOWN — South African President Jacob Zuma Thursday urged impoverished communities not to resort to violence in protests over living standards and pledged an improvement in the delivery of basic services.

Riot police spent three days this week battling demonstrations in a destitute township in the east of the country which is blighted by a high rate of unemployment and a lack of basic services.

"Whatever the grievances are, they can only be resolved through engagement with the authorities and not through violence. The police will continue to act against those who break the law," Zuma told parliament.

The three-day protest in Wesselton, a township around 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Johannesburg, had quietened on Thursday ahead of a community meeting on Monday, the Sapa news agency reported.

A local leader said people were unhappy about service delivery, unemployment and the selection of candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections which are expected by end May.

Pledging that services would be improved ahead of the polls, Zuma said officials had signed performance and service delivery agreements and a strategy was also being put in place to tackle backlogs and complaints.

"As we head for local government elections, we are confident that the measures we are putting in place will improve the functioning of local government, as all players know what is expected of them," he said.

South Africa faces sporadic violent service protests over massive housing backlogs, lack of water and sanitation and joblessness that affects more than one in three people.

Despite being the continent's economic powerhouse, the country has battled to improve living standards for the black majority since the 1994 fall of the white minority apartheid regime.

Kgalema Motlanthe is ANC Deputy President.This is an edited extract from his acceptance speech on the occasion of his election as President of South Africa,25 September 2008.

MORE INFORMATION:Full acceptance speech by President Motlanthe, 25 September 2008http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=./=ncdocs/history/motlanthe/2008/km0925.html

TASKS OF GOVERNMENT

We should forge ahead with our historic missionThe African National Congress is a movement with a rich political tradition.While conditions have changed, and tactics have had to be adapted, thepolicy orientation of the ANC has remained consistent for over 50 years.The vision espoused in the Freedom Charter remains at the core of the work of this movement. It is reflected in the mandate of government since the attainment of democracy in 1994. As the leading party in government,the ANC has kept a steady hand on the tiller. Even when faced with difficulty, and confronted by unanticipated challenges, the ANC has remained unwavering in its commitment to advance the interests of all the people of South Africa.This commitment has been reflected in the policies of three con-successive ANC governments. It will continue to be reflected in the final months of thecountry's third democratic national government. In 2004, the people of thiscountry gave a clear and unequivocal mandate to the government to forge a people's contract to create work and fight poverty. The people placed on the government the responsibility to use all means at its disposal toensure that by 2014 we would be able to reduce poverty and unemployment by half.When the government's term ends next year, it will be able to report to the people that indeed it has done as it was mandated. It will be able to reporton an economy that has sustained a pace of growth unprecedented in recent South African history, that has created jobs at an accelerated pace, and that has enabled government to dedicate greater resources to meeting the basic needs of our people.The government will be able to report on significant progress in pushingback the frontiers of poverty. It will be able to report on tangibleadvances in the provision of housing, electricity, water, sanitation andother basic services to millions of our people. And it will be able toreport on major improvements in the access of poor South Africans to health care, education and social security.South Africans across the length and breadth of the country will attest tothese and many other achievements. But they know too that much workstill lies ahead. They know the challenges our country faces, and the hardships that many of our people continue to endure.To South Africans and to the world at large, we say that we shall not falterin leading the national effort to build a society in which all South Africans, regardless of their background, race or gender, have equal accessto an expanding array of opportunity. We say that the government willcontinue to as it has done under the leadership of President Thabo Mbeki, to dedicate every day that it remains in office towards the achievement of this goal.The resolve of the government will not slacken. The pace of implementation will only quicken, and the fulfilment of its mandate will only ever draw closer.We are able to make such pronouncements with neither hesitation nor doubt, precisely because the policies we are charged to implement are the policies of the African National Congress. These policies, which government will continue to implement unchanged, are the product of an extensive consultation and decision-making process.These policies are the property of a collective. They do not belong to anyone individual and it is not for any one individual to change them. Thepolicies of this government are clear. They are based on the 2004 Manifesto of the African National Congress, enhanced by the decisions of both the ANC's Policy Conference as well as its 52nd National Conference held in Polokwane in December 2007.We will not allow that the work of government be interrupted. We will notallow the stability of our democratic order to be compromised. And we willnot allow the confidence that our people have in the ability of the state torespond to their needs to be undermined.In this moment in our history, as we stand poised to make further advancestowards the achievement of a better life, it is as important as ever that westand united as a nation. It is as important as ever that we retain ourfaith in the resilience of our constitutional order and the vibrancy of ourdemocracy. Though we may at times experience difficulty, though we maysuffer moments of doubt and uncertainty, we have both the will and the means to rise above the challenges of the present, and to forge ahead with our historic mission to liberate all our people from discrimination, oppression and want.Therefore, we send out a message that government remains on course todeliver on its commitments to the poor, who rely on us daily for thefulfilment of their basic needs and for the provision of important serviceslike health, education, and social security. We remain on course to halveunemployment and poverty by 2014. We remain determined to stamp out crime, violence and abuse, whoever it affects and wherever it=20 manifests itself. We remain committed to building safer communities and protecting the vulnerable in our society from abuse. But in doing so, we need all our people to work with, and within, the criminal justice system so that together we stamp out crime.We assure all those on our continent and in the world that we will continueto meet our international obligations. We will continue to play a positiverole within international institutions and forums. We will continue toprovide whatever assistance we can in the pursuit of peace, security,democracy and development in Africa. We remain on course to host in 2010 the best FIFA World Cup ever - An African World Cup. We fully expect to meet every commitment our nation has made to the football world.In a turbulent global economy, we will remain true to the policies that havekept South Africa steady, and that have ensured sustained growth. We willintensify the all-round effort to accelerate the rate of growth and jobcreation, and ensure that all our people equally share the benefits ofgrowth.In the spirit of building a united democratic, non-racial, non-sexist andprosperous South Africa, we will continue the regular engagements between government and the various working groups representing vital sectors within our society. These, together with initiatives like the nation wide Izimbizo programme, provide a crucial opportunity for enhancing popular engagement with the highest levels of government.We live in challenging times. We see before us many mountains that are yet to be climbed, and numerous rivers that still need to be crossed. Yet, for all the challenges that lie ahead, the incontrovertible truth is that neverbefore has South Africa been closer than it is today towards the achievement of a better life for all its people. We therefore have a sharedresponsibility to build on these results and to strive together - sparingneither courage for strength - towards the achievement of a better SouthAfrica, a better Africa and a better world.** Kgalema Motlanthe is ANC Deputy President. This is an edited extract from his acceptance speech on the occasion of his election as President of South Africa, 25 September 2008.MORE INFORMATION:Full acceptance speech by President Motlanthe, 25 September=20 2008http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=./ancdocs/history/motl=nthe/2008/km0925.htmlThis issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at:http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2008/at38.htmTo receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to:http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html

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